I’m not sure how our family Christmas is going to shake out this year. Perry has to work Christmas Eve and so does Ben. They’ll both roll in about 5:00 PM and that would be fine if Scott & Tammy didn’t want to do our gathering at 2:00 PM so they can drive back to Fort Wayne before it gets late.
The human to dog ratio will be sort of overwhelming.
Since it’s Hugo’s first Christmas and he hates more than 1/2 those who will be here, he’s fine with the human numbers staying low.
Out of our tiny family of 8, only 6 will be together at the same time unless Scott & Tammy hang around later than I figure they want to. Mom & Carl better bring a blankie so they can nap at some point throughout the long day. Especially since I plan to put them at the helm of one of Coco’s gifts. I hope the Boxbollen lives up to the hype and no one has a heart attack trying to outdo the others.
Are you ready for Christmas?
I’ve not wrapped anything yet and still need to pick up some gift cards. Perry’s Mom has been talking about us coming to see her on Christmas Day since July — and she’s changed the menu 25 times already. She’s all worried about what to feed 2 people and I haven’t a clue what my crew is going to eat yet. 🙂
Now you know: Martha Gellhorn was the only woman reporter at the D-Day landings. Having been refused accreditation, she got there by stowing away in the toilet of a hospital ship until it set sail. She went ashore with medics to help bring back the wounded and reported on what she saw and heard.
With Christmas rapidly approaching, I jumped in the time machine for a trip down holiday memory lane…
We’ve never been a big family when it comes to holiday celebrations, and that hasn’t changed. But this year, even Katie won’t be with us now that she’s living in Tennessee and working two jobs. Over the years, it’s not been possible for even our small family unit to gather every single year for various reasons. I can’t imagine how big families do it.
The ghosts of Christmases past…
If you’re like me and have lost loved ones, you probably miss them during holidays most of all. Pap-pa died when Ben was just a baby, but Nanny was still around for almost another 30-years after that. She was doing holiday celebrations 5 years longer than Dad and 4 years longer than Scott’s Sheri. She’s still hanging around during the holiday season here…
Christmas is my favorite holiday, but I’ll admit it can be stressful.
Too bad Ben didn’t didn’t have 4 or 5 kids so we’d have little ones to spoil. Scott has ZERO children but shares grandchildren with his wife Tammy and of course, they have their own Christmas gathering.
Maybe I should’ve had 5 kids — with at least a couple of them being girls — so the hosting and preparation could fall to one of them. My friend, Julie, would say that way of thinking is wrong. Her Thanksgiving was spent with the parents of her daughter’s husband that no one likes. 🙂
Now you know: Dogs have been banned from Antarctica since 1994 due to fears that they could spread diseases to the native seal population.
Ya’ll know about Oprah’s a favorite things list she puts out every year at Christmastime? Well… get ready, because Hugo has a favorite things list to share this year.
If you’re looking for the perfect gift, Hugo’s got the inspiration. He won’t be putting 116 unique items out there like Oprah did for 2024. And, he won’t be making recommendations just to make money from the sales either. He loves cottage cheese and Christmas tree skirts most right now — but those 2 items will not be on the list.
Before we get into Hugo’s list, I want to share that I did browse Oprah’s. The first 2 items I clicked on — a pair of pj’s ($140.00 bucks) and a pair of resin salad servers ($80.00 bucks) — were out of my price range for what they are. And a pound cake for $85.00? Ummm… no. Has Oprah lost her ever lovin’ mind? Even if it was the best pound cake on the planet — and you had the kind of money Oprah has — that dessert has 2.5 stars on Amazon. 🙄
Hugo’s list of 5 favorite things for Christmas 2024:
For the dog on your list, Hugo recommends the Woof Pupscicles starter pack. The silicone trays let you create homemade frozen treats that your pooch will love.
Who doesn’t love the softest throw out there? Tommy Bahama has their Palm Fronds throw on sale. (Hugo has one of these in his crate and says it’s the only thing that makes that cage tolerable.)
The only thing Hugo and Oprah agree on are Peepers reader glasses. If you don’t love them for yourself, your hound will love chewing on them.
Fondly named ‘peasant slippers’ by Ben, these Ugg Tasman shoes are easy to slip on when going outside in the winter. They’re also fuzzy and so soft on puppy gums.
Today I did a thing. I typically don’t do this “thing” until Thanksgiving, but this year I did it early. Why? Katie sent me photos of her place all decorated, so I figured I’d make the festive move too.
When Ben was little, and even when he was in high school and living at home, we always put up our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving evening. In my head, I envisioned the family hanging ornaments and listening to carols. That never, EVER happened. It was always me doing it by myself while everyone else napped after eating turkey.
If I have to do it myself, I’d rather not tackle it with a belly full of Thanksgiving goodness.
I still have decorating to do — a little inside and a little outside — but the trees are up! My nicer glass ornaments were brought down from storage and taken right back upstairs. With Hugo, it’s not safe to hang anything made of glass above concrete. Maybe next year. 🙂
Now you know: In 2006, Scott Stapp of Creed filed a lawsuit to block the release of a sex video involving himself, Kid Rock, and four women. The suit was settled with the defendant agreeing to pay Stapp an undisclosed sum and to refrain from distributing the video.
I posted yesterday morning how I wasn’t ready to take the trees down. I didn’t REALLY lie because at that time, I wasn’t ready. By 4:30 PM; however, I was.
Me and those pesky neighbors are opposites.
I took down the inside decorations and even carried everything upstairs myself. It’s all put away. EXCEPT… I’m leaving the outside lights on until 1/1/24. The pesky neighbors, on the other hand, have all the outside stuff in and are leaving the inside decorations lit until after the new year.
I don’t think either of us are right or wrong — just different. 🙂
Foggy, cold and beautiful.
This morning is nippy, but isn’t this pretty?
Now you know: It took Germany 92 years to pay of its WWI debt. In today’s money, the cost was approximately 500 billion dollars.
